Christians worldwide mobilise for Iraqi Church

Published: 25 July 2014

A campaign has been mounting in the global twittersphere to stand with Iraqi Christians over their expulsion from Mosul, reports Vatican Radio.

The campaign is under the hashtag #WeAreN: This refers to the Arabic letter ن, or 'n,' which Islamic State militants have left on some doorways in areas under their control to indicate that the inhabitants are 'Nazarene' or Christian.

The campaign is uniting Catholics, Orthodox and Protestant as well as people of goodwill worldwide, in an effort to raise awareness of the religious cleansing underway in Iraq. 'This is a horrible term' confides Archbishop Amel Nona of Mosul, 'but it is what is happening, it is what is going on right now on the ground.'

Speaking to Vatican Radio, Archbishop Nona told how his community has been scattered to the four winds by the Islamist onslaught, but speaks of their courage in having endured persecution since 2003 and of the strength that thePope’s words during his Angelus last Sunday has given them. However, he also speaks of their fear that this brutal ethnic and religious cleansing is unfolding amid global indifference.

This is why Archbishop Nona’s appeal is not just for concrete solidarity for the thousands of displaced Iraqis, but for Christians outside of Iraq to have the courage to speak up in defence of their brothers and sisters suffering in silence within Iraq.